GREEN BAY, Wis. – Somewhere in the middle of Jordy Nelson's career-best day against the New York Jets on Sunday, another Green Bay Packers receiver showed up as a playmaker for quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
And it was not Randall Cobb, despite his two touchdown catches.
In fact, when it was suggested to Cobb that he had a big day, the fourth-year receiver replied with what he thought was his receiving yardage total.
"[I had] 34 yards," said Cobb, who actually had 39 but his point that it wasn't much was clearly understood.
But in Sunday's 31-24 comeback win over the New York Jets, rookie receiver Davante Adams made his first appreciable contribution to the Packers' offense. The second-round pick from Fresno State caught five passes for 50 yards, including 24 on a third-down slant during the Packers' 97-yard touchdown drive late in the second quarter.
"It's plays like that that give you a lot of confidence as a young player, and I'm really proud of him," Rodgers said. "He stepped up. He played really well. I think he'll start to settle in, and you'll see even more big plays from him."
In the process, Adams supplanted Jarrett Boykin as the No. 3 receiver, at least for the remainder of the game.
"It was big," said Adams, who did not have any passes thrown his way in Week 1. "I feel like I'm just scratching the surface though. I've just got to continue to grow from here and that type of stuff is only going to make me better."
Adams appeared to be pushing for the No. 3 receiver spot early in training camp but never made a serious run at Boykin. However, after Boykin dropped one pass and couldn't connect with Rodgers on another during the same second-quarter drive, Adams got the call.
"He's earned those opportunities; he's been coming on,” coach Mike McCarthy said. "You're giving him a shot, see if he can give us a spark, and he made some plays. That's the beauty of competition. You want all these guys competing each and every day. Boykin, I love the young man. He's going to play a lot of football for us. When someone makes plays you keep him in there."
































